The evening of October
21, 2008 became a very special night in Abt Electronics history, as company
founders Jewel and David Abt were officially inducted into the Consumer
Electronics Hall of Fame during a ceremony in the Grand Ballroom of the
Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas. The CE Hall of Fame honors industry leaders
who have turned the consumer electronics market into the dynamic and exciting
industry it is today. Members of the Hall of Fame are the innovators,
inventors, promoters, and entrepreneurs whose vision has helped shape
the world. Jewel Abt also has the special honor of becoming the Hall's
first female member.

Bob Abt (left) accepting the Hall of Fame award

Abt Electronics was
founded in 1936 as Abt Radio in a small storefront in the Logan Square
section of Chicago. It was launched with an $800 "loan" from
wife Jölane "Jewel" Abt to husband David, who knew electronics,
which at that time was mostly limited to crystal radios. Through Jewel
and David's hard work and extraordinary vision, Abt Electronics has grown
to become the largest single-store appliance and consumer electronics
store in the country and an early online retailing pioneer.

The 12 new inductees in the 2008 class join such esteemed leaders as Ray
Dolby, Ken Kai, Steve Wozniak, Jack Doyle, Dr. Amar Bose, and Dick Schulze
to boost the current Hall of Fame membership to 133 prestigious leaders.
Other 2008 inductees included Martin Cooper and Donald Linder, who produced
the world's first cellular phone, the Motorola DynaTAC; Dr. Fritz Sennheiser,
founder of the Sennheiser company, a leader in microphone technology;
Joe Clayton, recognized for his leadership of RCA, his work on direct
broadcast satellite (DBS), and his leadership at Sirius satellite radio;
Sony's Ken Kutaragi, who developed the PlayStation gaming consoles; and
Warren Lieberfarb, president of Warner Home Video and known as the "Father
of the DVD."

Voting was conducted
by a panel of 15 CE media and industry professionals, who judged the hundreds
of nominations that were submitted by manufacturers, retailers, and industry
journalists. According to the Hall of Fame voters, "Jewel and David
Abt, founders of Abt Electronics, the largest privately owned consumer
electronics retailing operation, saw how people craved these new technologies
and worked to get them into the hands of consumers. Jewel and David continued
to be active in the business well into their 70s. Their son, Bob, and
grandsons Michael, Ricky, Jon, and Billy, now run the family business
and have the same dedication that motivated Jewel and David. After 72
years, Abt has survived the incursion of a host of competitors and big-box
retailers, thanks to a concentration on its local roots and quality personalized
service."

In 2005, the Chicago block at Wolfram and Milwaukee Avenues, where the
first Abt store was located, was dedicated to and renamed "Jewel
and David Abt Way."